Del Norte teens would like your jeans

By Elizabeth Marie Himchak

If you have jeans in any size or style that you no longer wear, a Del Norte High club would like to have them.

Del Norte High KIN Club officers, from left, Lily Zhang, Katarina Stapleford, Brandon Burrows, Sofia D’Auria and Ryleigh Mansell, with a few of the 325 gently used jeans collected in less than two weeks. Photo by Exe Punay

The Do Something Del Norte KIN Club along with the Associated Student Body is collecting gently used jeans so they can be given to homeless teenagers. The Teens for Jeans collection drive runs through Feb. 10 and is part of a nationwide effort.

“One of every three homeless people are teens,” said Katarina Stapleford, the club’s founder and co-president. “In San Diego alone, that represents over 3,000 young adults living on the streets. And the item they request the most is a clean pair of jeans.”

On Monday, Stapleford said 325 pairs of jeans had been collected since Jan. 19. That put the Del Norte Club among the top collectors in the nationwide competition. The 4S Ranch school is the leader in San Diego County and perhaps Southern California.

“We’re doing really good,” she said, “Students are really excited … everyone wants to help out.”

She said if Del Norte High collects the most jeans in the United States, the school will receive $5,000 and each of the school’s 1,600 students will receive a gift card for a new pair of jeans.

Stapleford said as the deadline approaches, the club’s 160 members expect their collection numbers to rise significantly because many of their fellow Nighthawks said they have been cleaning out their closets at home and will soon bring in more jeans.

Those in the community not associated with the school can also contribute to the effort. In addition to bringing jeans to the school’s administration office at 16601 Nighthawk Lane in 4S Ranch, jeans can be dropped off at the Starbucks in Carmel Mountain Ranch at 11885 Carmel Mountain Road, Dream Dinners in Poway at 12218 Poway Road and Aloha Day Spa in Poway at 13654 Poway Road, Suite 100.

Sony and Cymer in Rancho Bernardo and Bactes Imaging Solutions in Kearny Mesa have also asked their employees to participate, according to Stapleford.

The Del Norte junior said she founded the club on campus last fall after learning about the nationwide KIN (helping Kids in Need) Club — part of DoSomething.org. The local club has formed a long-term partnership with Friends & Family Community Connection, which she has been involved with for several years.

“Our main objective is to inspire Del Norte students, tell them the importance of community service and give them opportunities to help out,” she said.

Prior to the jeans collection drive, the club raised about $200 during its Tackle Hunger campaign at a football game, participated in Operation Christmas Child, adopted a family for the holidays, volunteered with FFCC’s food packing events and made blankets for toddlers at the Becky’s House shelter.

Stapleford said the club, joined by other Del Norte students and FFCC, plans to pack 20,000 meals on campus for orphans in Tanzania and Haiti on March 16. Other upcoming projects are collecting pajamas for foster kids and the “Soles for Little Souls” shoe drive.

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Posted by Elizabeth Marie Himchak on Feb 4 2012. Filed under 4S Ranch, Featured Story, Local News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry